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Talk:Miyuki Kazuya/@comment-173.79.108.238-20161005205542/@comment-39679142-20190603220746
So I want to clearly separate "Miyuki's treatment of Sawamura" and "Miyuki's character development". They're not the same thing. In fact, Eijun fans should want Miyuki and everyone doubting Eijun, so that he can come through as the real hero at the end and show them all that they were wrong. He has to become the ace, not just obtain the number. The only way he can do that is overcoming other people's doubts - and his own. So that's not an issue for me. And it's also nothing to do with Miyuki's character development, as Miyuki is not such a weak character as to depend on Eijun for his own evolution. That said. I've only gone through the start of the newer stuff, but it feels a bit like a reset button on the nasty Miyuki from what happened at the end of the aki-taikai. There was so much evolution for Miyuki after he became Captain - you see his weaknesses, his doubts, and his human side for the first time. He's not just being nasty for the fun of it (sometimes he is) but there's often a lot more going on. The difference between him not caring about not scoring and even wanting Tanba not to score so it doesn't affect his pitching in a game to throwing himself at the plate half dead to get his team to Koushien was a huge evolutionary step. So was his acceptance of his injury and how he realised he couldn't ever overcome Chris, even though in the first place he had intended to take over the first team slot. Miyuki was my favourite character from the off. The storyline from the start of his captaincy, through the Nabe incident, to the Yakushi final, is my favourite part of DnA and the reason I got properly hooked. ...I haven't seen that evolved Miyuki in the new stuff yet. I genuinely don't care how he deals with the pitchers that much, because the series has set it up from the start that Miyuki should be Eijun's ultimate catch partner and Eijun frequently reiterates it too. So I feel like that's a storm in a teacup as far as the fanbase is concerned. But I want to keep seeing hints of human Miyuki alongside nasty Miyuki, because we now know he's there. I feel there's still more to be dug out with him in that regard - not least with his Dad - so hopefully it will happen. Miyuki is the #1 fan favourite, so maybe that will get him some more manga time to evolve independent of Eijun's path. I really hope so. So, going back to the original point with Miyuki, I feel like it's not so odd if he doesn't care about the Kantou game. For a start this is a known weakness of his. Miyuki's character development has thus far centred around him finding things difficult, rather than coasting because he is such a talent. Noticing things like that in other people isn't a skill of his. He berated himself for not noticing Furuya's foot injury. He doesn't always read the pitcher on the mound right, and Nori especially is wise to him when he just says something rather than really meaning it...which doesn't help Nori's confidence and probably weakens their partnership. I think the way to sum that up is that in a game sense, for Miyuki, everything is calculation. He said he'd do or say anything to get the performance and the win...he struggles against wild pitchers (eg Todoroki) because he can't calculate or predict their actions. And calculations and human emotions are completely different. He's not like Kuramochi or Zono who can see those things (albeit they react in different ways). I feel like if that got fixed really easily it would be a bigger issue as it's fundamental to his character. He's always taken care of himself so he expects other people to do it too, and they don't, and he sometimes doesn't realise until it's too late. That's when he doesn't intervene on the mound, and things go south. To still have that as a weakness, now his batting has improved and his catching is still so good, means he has more room to grow. Losing the Kantou-taikai also seems pretty irrelevant to me, honestly. Flashback to the start of the first year when Eijun didn't even bother to show up to the qualification games for the Kantou tournament. They've come back off Koushien, showing them going mad and winning everything isn't realistic and doesn't allow for growth. It's maybe more surprising that they weren't more emotional on leaving Koushien, considering the tears after the summer tournament - but that's where the team is now. But, going back to the Miyuki mindset of calculation over emotion. They've come back from Koushien, had little time to prepare, and the real focus is the summer. Not being in the Kantou-taikai gives them a chance to build for their challenge there. We've seen Miyuki not care about practice games so long as there's something to take from the performance - fine tuning, a new ball, whatever. I am guessing that this is probably the same kind of thing. I don't see why Miyuki - who noticeably didn't cry in the summer and was perfectly calm talking to the Komadai players after Koushien, would really be that fussed about losing the Kantou qualification. Moreover, you might add that, having had to sit out the Jingu-taikai with injury, he's maybe more aware of priorities in his final year as a player, and wanting to take the chances that lead somewhere. The Kantou-taikai doesn't. I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons Ichidai Sankou didn't progress much in the summer was because Manaka was tired out after being involved in the Spring Invitational and had not had a proper rest through. I would totally put that in Miyuki's calculations of the bigger picture and just assume that he doesn't see it as a bad thing if the pitchers get a break before the summer contest starts. I would call this writing Miyuki in character, rather than a lack of development. There's one other factor here as well. What kind of pitcher do we want Eijun - or Furuya, or Nori - to be? Because if Miyuki has to do all the decision making, and has to resolve all of the problems, how can they progress and become stronger players? Miyuki does pay a lot of attention to all three of them, to the point Eijun has needled him about it...but he can't go up to the mound every time one of them has a spasm, or they won't work the problem out for themselves. What kind of pitcher is Eijun going to be going forward if every time he's discouraged, Miyuki has to run up to hold his hand and talk him through it? It goes back to what I said before - Miyuki does expect others to resolve things themselves, and sometimes that means he spots things too late. I think he even says it to Ochiai about Furuya, that he wanted Furuya to work through an issue himself, rather than switching ball styles or taking control. Miyuki is really trying to teach them to be pitchers, not just act as their puppet masters, by taking some control themselves of their own actions. In any case, for me interest in this series ends the moment Miyuki and company are no longer important in the plot, as Miyuki and Kuramochi are my favourites and while I love Harucchi, I have always seen the ultimate culmination of the plot the Eijun Miyuki partnership on the Koushien mound. If they don't end up there in the summer tournament this time then that will really annoy me...I don't care if Eijun has another year, or about any of the new characters (Takuma seems quite cool mind you), so if this team doesn't make it there, I'm gonna be done. For me the team is more important than how cool other characters make Eijun look...I want to see them developed independently of him, because for me that's the strength of this manga.